Pepeli Fells 290-Pound Gans in 4th Round

Seven months ago, heavyweight Rocky Pepeli of Burbank knocked out Mike Gans in the second round. Gans came back to the Country Club in Reseda to face Pepeli again Tuesday night, and this time Gans brought something extra--40 pounds.

It made a definite difference. The sound of Gans falling onto the canvas was much louder this time. Pepeli, 234 pounds, knocked down the 290-pound Gans three times, finally stopping him at 1 minute 48 seconds of the fourth round with a devastating left hook.

The fight ended with referee James Jen-Kin waving his arms to signal the end as Gans crumpled on his knees to the mat in a neutral corner, his face pressed hard against a cushioned beer sign.

Pepeli (17-4-1 with 15 knockouts) had knocked down Gans (10-11) in the first round with a left hook that would become a regular part of Gans’ face by the second round. Gans, of Santa Rosa, hit the mat with a frightening thud again in the third round. He got up quickly from the first two knockdowns, or as quickly as a 290-pound person with wobbly legs can get up.

But in the fourth round, Pepeli unloaded his best left hook of the fight. It crashed against Gans’ unprotected chin and the giant man fell again. When he made no effort to get up, Jen-Kin stopped the bout.

“He was the heaviest guy I ever fought, but that doesn’t mean anything,” Pepeli said. “My jab stopped him early and then the hooks took everything else.”

In a scheduled eight-round middleweight bout, James Rivas (5-3-1) of Phoenix was hit by a low blow in the first round by Chris Sande (13-3) of Kenya and, after being examined ringside by doctors, was determined to be unable to continue. The bout was officially ruled “no decision.”

In a junior middleweight bout, P.J. Goossen (4-0 with three knockouts) of North Hollywood stopped Troy Stanley (1-5) of Phoenix at 2:23 of the second round with a barrage of punches that had Stanley reeling along the ropes when referee Lou Moret stopped the fight. Goossen, 154, controlled the entire bout.